ART EXHIBIT/COMMENCEMENT CONCERT-Old Men In Hats: The Art of Kevin McKrell

Please join us at the Irish American Heritage Museum as we "kick off" our newest Art Exhibit with a commencement concert at IAHM's Flanagan Theater. The works of art and performer are none other than the legendary Kevin McKrell.

Somewhere tonight, across the country or across the sea, a singer, sitting on a stool on a pub’s corner stage, is belting out a Kevin McKrell song, and the crowd is singing along. McKrell pioneered American Celtic music beginning in 1979 with Donnybrook Fair. The original trio’s 1982 album Tunnel Tigers remains a landmark of the form, with its blend of Clancy Brothers swagger and upstate NY attitude. In 1998, McKrell - who has five solo albums to his credit - formed a powerhouse band under his own name, merging the Irish sensibility of Donnybrook with a steely, world class bluegrass edge. The McKrells toured harder than Donnybrook, bringing its music, with McKrell’s lusty vocals supported by hot string band picking, to Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and festivals and concert venues around the country.

Offstage, McKrell, is a respected painter and sculptor, with his work hanging in many of the halls he’s haunted, here s well as in Ireland, Scotland and Italy. The Irish American Heritage Museum is thrilled to display Kevin's art in this exhibit entitled :Old Men in Hats: The Art of Kevin McKrell."

Kevin McKrell is indeed a legend and is known across the globe for his indelible songs - classics like ‘Donegal,’ ‘You and Me,’ ‘I Miss the Rain,’ and the eternal ‘All of The Hard Days Are Gone’ - which, in addition to the raft of pub singers mentioned afore, have been sung and recorded by artists such as The Kingston Trio, Bob Shane, North Sea Gas, The Furey Brothers, Hair of the Dog, Seamus Kennedy ,The Druids, The Dublin City Ramblers, Wood’s Tea Company, Get Up Jack and many others. Kevin and his bands have performed for audiences at the top Celtic, Folk and Bluegrass festivals as well as Carnegie Hall , Lincoln Center, Troy Music Hall, Caffé Lena, Berklee Performance Hall, Proctors Theater, The Sellersville Theater, Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The Night Eagle Cafe /6 On the Square, The Egg, North Texas Irish Festival, The Landmark Theater Syracuse, Milwaukee Irish Festival ,Celtic Classic, The Great American Irish Festival, MusikFest, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Winterhawk Bluegrass festival are some of the top venues where Kevin and his bands have appeared.

The Irish American Heritage Museum is grateful for Kevin's support with this event, and throughout the years.

Host or Publisher Irish American Heritage Museum